


Ignorance Is Bliss | SPN.

by reddawns



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Djinnverse (Supernatural), F/M, Saving People Hunting Things, Supernatural - Freeform, Superwholock, The CW, Winchesters - Freeform, castiel - Freeform, djinn, half-djinn, sam and dean - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:35:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22135663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddawns/pseuds/reddawns
Summary: Supernatural AU inspired by S2EP20, "What Is and What Never Should Be."This was last updated July 13, 2017, but I edited it this year. Beware of cheesiness.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s), Jody Mills/Bobby Singer, Sam Winchester/Original Female Character(s)





	Ignorance Is Bliss | SPN.

I scanned the long, dark stretch of asphalt ahead of me with heavy eyes. Sam was sleeping in shotgun, and we were headed to South Dakota.

"Hello, Dean," a solemn voice sounded from behind me. I immediately assumed it was Cas, but I didn't know why he decided to Harry Potter into my backseat. Things in Heaven were fine for a long time now, so I had nothing particularly weird to anticipate.

"Whatcha got, Cas?" I sighed, squinting at the road.

"Heaven's quieter than it's ever been. I could use the company."

"For a guy who could 'use the company,' you don't seem to get out much," I mumbled.

"What's that?"

I turned the volume of the radio up, hearing the satisfying sound of a guitar riff fading into quietude.

For the next three hours, it was a silent ride home—except for the radio. I perked up as soon as Bobby's porch lights started to blind me, thinking, _It must be close to two AM_.

I grimaced at the noise coming from Baby's engine as I pulled into the gravel driveway. It took a minute adjust to the light and even more to wake Sam, but Cas was already inside the rickety house by the time we reached the foyer.

Bobby was perched on a leather armchair, sparking up eager conversation with the angel. Jody was hugging a throw pillow on the sofa and softly snoring, so I didn't need a clock to know it was morning.

"Heya, boys," he greeted Sam and me, standing up with a big huff.

"Great to see you," Sam yawned, extending his hand to Bobby. He jabbed him in the ribs by accident.

"I'm starting to think sleep is your most vital organ and you've recently become a donor," Bobby joked, eyeing Sam's misplacing of the hand. "Go get some rest—we'll all catch up over breakfast."

"See ya." Sam staggered his way to the spare room.

"All right, now which closet are you keeping my girl in?" I asked playfully.

"Oh, you know where," Bobby rolled his eyes.

I headed up the creaky steps and into the upstairs den, where the beautiful Alena George was nestled into an enormous pile of furs. It took everything in me to remember which planks in the floor groaned when you stepped on them, and bearing this in mind, I stealthily avoided every one until I could sink into the couch where she was resting. I whispered an "I love you" before dozing off with ease.

The morning came in what felt like two seconds; Alena was awake and stretching when she noticed my eyes were open at last.

"Good morning, honey," she smiled, her white teeth glistening like pearls. "Go brush your teeth. Jody made French toast."

"Pushy," I said in a gravelly voice. When I stood up, Alena pinched me in the waist, and I squirmed out of her reach. "I'm going, I'm going!"

Sam's girlfriend Jada was showering when I got to the bathroom. We had become close enough that it wasn't weird to be in the same room during times like these; the curtain between us was the line between best friends and total strangers.

I brushed my teeth over a thirty-second period with the spare toothbrush I kept in Bobby's medicine cabinet. There was a purple one for Alena, too.

"Hey, Jada?" I called over the pounding of water hitting the floor.

"Yes?"

"If you're not out by the time I get downstairs, is it cool if I finish your breakfast?"

"If you do, I'll make a pie and eat it seductively with your girlfriend."

"Well hell, have at it!"

Just as I reached the kitchen, I heard Jada's shower come to an end. I sat beside Jody's empty place at the table, glancing around the room. "Sam slept in?"

"He went to take a shower first thing in the morning," Jody filled me in, pouring fresh orange juice into crystal glasses for everybody. "You look surprised. Boy's a clean freak."

"I thought Jada was up there," I trailed off, then lowered my face and pinched the bridge of my nose as I realized they were both bathing. "Never mind. Dude's got needs."

Suddenly Alena materialized at my other side and leaned into me to whisper, "Girls have needs, too, you know."

"What's the point of whispering? I can hear you clearly," Cas chimed in, appearing in the seat across from Jody.

"You are not invited," I warned him.

Sam and Jada showed up quickly enough, though Jada came downstairs first and took the seat across from Alena; Sam arrived fashionably late and sat across from me. In the meantime, Jody presented a platter of smoked bacon and sausage patties alongside steaming slices of French toast and a dish of butter that had yet to be sliced. She always cooked the greatest food—it's a shame Bobby didn't marry her sooner.

"To all family," Bobby said, raising his orange juice, "old and new."

I lifted my own glass and clinked it with Jody's, Sam's, and Alena's. Then, we dug in.

Around noon, everyone had gotten dressed. Alena, being the sweetheart she was, offered to help handwash Jody's delicate dishes, so I resolved to hang out with Sam, Cas, and Bobby in the garage. We had a couple of cold ones, a staticky radio, and collapsable lawn chairs.

"So, boys," Bobby sighed. "We ought to catch up, huh?"

"You bet," Sam agreed, tilting his bottle up. There was barely anything left in it.

"How are the ladies?"

"Amazing," I blurted out. Sam chuckled in shameless agreement.

"Congratulations," Cas said, a big grin on his stubbly face.

"Thanks," I nodded. Bobby looked out past all the rusty car hoods and randomly waved someone over. I couldn't see who from my vantage point, but Sam spoke for me.

"Whoa, is that Ellie?" Sam asked, standing up. All I saw after that was a scrawny, tomboyish figure riding an antique bicycle gracefully toward Bobby's garage. The tires were so rough that the gravel didn't seem to faze them.

"Hey," I called out first, grinning at the girl.

"Eleanor, it's great to finally see you again," Cas said, rising out of his chair.

"You too, lad!" she exclaimed, the tips of her coiffed brown pixie cut blowing in the breeze from under her hat. She dropped her bike onto the wall and dashed to hug Cas. His face relayed a surprised but joyful expression; I always thought there was something between them.

"Hi, Bobby. Hi, Sam and Dean," she chirped once Cas released her.

"Easy, tiger," I interjected when she leapt toward me. Her fedora nearly fell off each time she pressed her face against my chest, then Sam's, then Bobby's.

"What's new?" Sam wondered, sitting down on top of the cooler instead of his chair.

"Not much," Ellie shrugged. I started taking a drink of my beer when she sulked, "You really shouldn't drink. It's bad for your health."

"Well, you know what I say to that?" I retorted. "Bottoms up!"

She shook her head slowly in disapproval and assumed Sam's chair, sighing contentedly.

"Also, it tastes good," Sam added childishly, sticking his finger in the air to signify a point. He may have been edging tipsy.

"So anyway, is there anything I've missed?" she wondered randomly, leaning her head on top of her fists after readjusting the suspenders hinged to her navy ankle pants.

"Oh, nothing really. How 'bout we talk about you?" Bobby suggested. I nodded along humbly. "Say, where'd you get those scars? I don't remember seeing 'em."

Bobby pointed out the jagged, almost pearlescent lines on Ellie's forearm, ending right where the hand connects with the arm. I leaned forward to take a closer look at the scars because they had a weird luster, and Cas, being the one she was closest to, grabbed her arms out from underneath her chin.

"I tore up my wrists and sewed 'em up by myself," she smiled proudly. That would account for the crooked defacement. "Separate times, of course. I'm fine."

The four of us eyeballed her weirdly until she decided it was necessary to continue: "All the dinosaurs feared the T-Rex!" She drew her arms close to her body to make them look shorter.

"You stole that from a movie, didn't you?" Sam accused.

"Man, you're such an adorable little he-she," I breathed out, clapping Ellie on the thigh. Bobby and Cas gave me the most disgusted face I'd ever seen, but Sam was too busy focusing on Ellie to have heard me.

"Oh, well," she laughed, peering around the garage. "You boys like it here?"

I scanned the room as well. There were a million memories locked up in the toolbox, but even more were buried beneath the cement out in the salvage yard. Twice as many lived inside Bobby's actual house, including the bulk of my childhood; I was glad Ellie brought it up. The nostalgia was real.

"Are you kidding? This is our home," Sam smiled faintly. "Cas's too."

"Sioux Falls is nice this time of year," Bobby piped up. "I don't plan on leavin' anytime soon."

A few short minutes later, we bid farewell to our family friend and she cycled out of Singer Auto on her picturesque little bicycle. She must have had ultra calloused feet because riding around in dress shoes was _not_ simple—I've worked many a case in suits and tuxedoes, and only now am I used to it.

I retreated inside after Jody asked Bobby to correct a connectivity error in her work laptop. Alena was sitting on a tarnished wooden bench in the hallway outside the den.

"Hey, Lanie," I said to her, taking a seat on her right. I kissed her shoulder gently.

"Hey," she smiled, lifting her arm up to stroke my hair.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Just thinking," she said indistinctly, her eyes on a weeping willow tree through the window. On the night I introduced her to Bobby and Jody, a few Thanksgivings ago, we went outside to sit beneath that tree and daydream.

"I bet I know what you're 'just thinking,'" I told her under my breath, resting my cheek on her shoulder.

"Do you miss that night, too?" she asked.

"Yeah....Why don't we go out there?"

Alena's face lit up completely, the way mine might if I ran into Robert Plant, so I knew that she wanted to race me to the backyard. In a few quick seconds I leaned against the trunk after letting her win, and from there I invited the beautiful brunette to sit in my lap. There was a soft gust that just caressed the blades of grass beneath me and shook the twig branches that shielded us from the cozy house. I couldn't see any patches of the sky that usually awned over me because the tree was so full, but it was still lovely. It was like an ozone layer of leaves securing our compassion in place. The scene reminded me of the day I fell in love.

The woman's pale, sparkling eyes were in contact with mine, but soon they shut and mine did too as I leaned closer to kiss her.

"Ah, dammit!" I shouted in a matter of seconds. Alena jumped when I yelled out, but God, I thought my left lobe had just exploded. It hurt so bad.

"Dean!" she shouted back. "Are you okay? What is it?"

"I-I just got this burning headache," I explained, completely nonplussed. "I don't get migr—"

The pain came back with more fervor than I could process. It was on both sides of my brain now, so I covered my eyes to block out any nuisance lights and groped around for Alena's hand. It felt like I was going to go limp, but I couldn't sit any more forward without headbutting Alena's shoulder with my feverish face.

There was a blurry image in my head. It was a meandering line on some pale canvas, like a tattoo of white ink on an already fair person. I thought my cranium had most likely cracked and unwound by now, given that there was no other viable explanation for the intense pain, but as soon as the picture vanished, so did the agonizing sting.

"Dean, what just happened?" Alena asked me, waving her fingers in front of my face. I opened my eyes and blinked, lowering her hands for her. She was kneeling beside me now. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I said, far more bewildered than she was. "Yeah, I think I just had a brain-gasm."

"Let's go back inside," she suggested with a quick giggle at my remark. I nodded and rose to my feet cautiously. Even out from under the tree, the sun did not cause my brain any harm. I had no clue what the pain was caused by.

Alena fetched some Ibuprofen and a plastic water bottle for me; I was hesitant to take the pills because I didn't think I needed them anymore, but she would never leave the room if I didn't take them, so down the hatch they went.

Jody walked into the kitchen with a half-eaten pack of crackers in her hand. "Howdy."

"Hey, Jody," I said.

"You okay?" she asked, seeing that I had taken some medicine, and placed her snack in a cabinet above the counter. She leaned her hand on the granite top, the vinyl floor squealing as she shifted her weight.

"I'm fine, just a headache," I brushed it off.

"Oh, all right," she said agreeably. "Say, who was that little...friend y'all were hanging out with in the garage?"

"Ah, you've seen Ellie," I smiled, raising my bottle of water. "That was Eleanor Theobald—we met her while on that ghoul case a few months ago, and she just kinda stuck. Like Garth."

"Really? How'd that happen?" Jody pressed.

"Why? You jealous?"

"Hey, you heard Alena. Girls have needs, too."

"Man, she has _got_ to learn to whisper quieter," I muttered. "Ellie was the victim. Originally, she was totally unthankful because she didn't want our help, but we grew on each other."

"That's sweet," she gleamed, shaking her head. I cocked my brow at her, pushing her to elaborate. "If memory serves, you dingo, bickering and stubbornness is what made this ring appear on my finger."

"Gotcha."

"Jody, I fixed up your laptop," Bobby called, shuffling downstairs. "But you're gonna need a new charger."

"Fine by me," she smiled, carrying it away from the kitchen.

"How's your day going, Uncle?" I asked endearingly.

"Don't make me feel old," he shook his head with a hearty laugh. "It's going fine. Aren't you tired, Midnight Driver?"

"Not so much," I said, "but I will be. Sleep deprivation is finally taking its toll on me."

"Is that so?" Bobby hummed, interest written on his forehead. Under any other circumstances, I would have claimed sleep was for the weak.

I nodded at him reassuringly. "I had this huge pain in my head a minute ago, but it only lasted a second or two."

"That's weird," he noted. "Pro'lly _is_ the sleep deprivation."

I made a face of consideration and rose off the stool. On my way out of the kitchen, I patted Bobby on the shoulder and then collapsed on the couch; there was a rigid figure underneath me, and I lifted the fur blanket to reveal Sam catching some shuteye. I must have been crushing his legs.

"Morning, sunshine," I enthused sarcastically as my brother stirred awake.

"Dude, get off me," he grunted, still half asleep. He sat up and then shot me a drastically perplexed look. I could see he was holding his breath and his brows were strung together by some force of worry, but I couldn't conjure any reason as to why he would look at me like so.

"You good?" I trailed off.

"Nothing," he said curtly. I furrowed my own brows, still worried. "Everything's fine. Just going upstairs."

He continued to heave himself off the couch and trudge up the steps, skipping every other one. All the while, his face was frozen in the same utterly confused expression.

"He's always been the weird one," I mumbled.

Hours full of family moments and television and time with my girlfriend passed me by until finally I got ready ready to devour a savory oven-baked chicken. Again, Jody's cooking was my saving grace.

"This smells like Heaven," Cas joked, chuckling at himself along with everyone else sitting at the dinner table. He didn't need to eat but we still appreciated his company during all the Winchester sleepovers.

"I'm sure it does," Jada agreed. She laughed a little as she made friendly eye contact with the angel, and then Jody sat down at the table with wine glasses that didn't match each other and a bottle of top-notch champagne.

"Honey," Bobby said, sounding confused.

"What?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Taittinger Champagne? Really?"

"The bottle looked pretty in the store," Jody justified innocently.

"I like how you roll," Alena chimed in. Jody poured for Alena before anyone else as a thank you, but soon we were all drinking up and gobbling down the delicious meal crafted by my favorite lady. It only took about half an hour to make everything disappear, but we were still hunched over our plates around nine at night for the sake of socializing.

"I think I'm gonna hit the sack," Sam breathed out finally. _Man, he gets tired early_. "Great dinner, Jody."

"It's about time, boy," Bobby noted. "You've been yawning since the afternoon."

"Sweet dreams, babe," Jada smiled upwards at him as he excused himself from the table.

As soon as my brother disappeared, I picked up a distant tapping sensation inside me—the beat grew heavier and more brutal in the left side of my skull the longer I sat there doing nothing about it. It was back.

"Agh," I mumbled in pain, squeezing my eyes shut and placing my palms on my forehead. "How long was it since I took those pills?"

"Not nearly enough time for a refill," my girlfriend shook her head. "You suppose you're sick or something?"

"Well, I would hope not; I had plans for later," I teased as an attempt to distract myself from the ache.

"Get a room, you two," Jody groaned playfully. "A room with a doc in it, per your preference." Kinky.

"Shh," Alena said on both of our behalf.

"Oh, well. I'm going to get a start on the dish—"

The whole room around me spun into some schizophrenic madland, my surroundings vague due to strobe lights. One thing became clear to me, though: a woman's silhouette with robotic blue eyes and her bare back was shown, and she had white lines drawn over the surface of her skin. The art disappeared as soon as Sam and I—a different me, an out-of-body me—made an appearance in the shabby room this ordeal took place in. Then it went black, and I was back in Bobby's kitchen, standing a foot away from where I was a moment ago with my hands secured around my face.

Jody, Bobby, Jada, and Alena all had different renditions of shock on their faces as they stared at my neurotic execution of pain tolerance.

"I'll be upstairs," I announced as if it were nothing, still huffing and puffing from amazement by the time I reached the top of the steps.

The bathroom was closest to me right now, so I dashed for it and halted suddenly when I met Sam at the sink. His face was dripping wet and, like in the afternoon, he looked confused.

"Are you having visions, too?" he asked in a quiet, panicky tone, his face red and eyes wide.

"I think so," I panted.

He nodded at the shower and squeezed past me. "Rinse off. It helps."

So I showered off briefly and returned to the room Sam and Jada were staying in. Everyone else was still downstairs, but Jada stopped in to check on us before we chatted.

"Everything's fine," Sam assured her, nodding his head. I flashed a smile that asked her to explain to Alena on my behalf. "Could you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure thing," she nodded back. I heard her footsteps fading away as she returned downstairs to be with the others.

"So what was yours about?" Sam and I asked each other in unison. Then I added, "Seniority rules. You go first."

"It happens right when I fall asleep," he said immediately, implying his panic with hand gestures. "It was like that yesterday, too. But the bad part is that I saw Jada and you together."

"Dude. That's not a vision, that's an irrational fear," I scolded.

His eyes widened in contradiction. "It wasn't like that! She had you tied to a chair with a knife lodged in each of your joints!"

After a brief pause, I told him, "Well that's messed up." I knitted my eyebrows together in order to think of what might have really occurred. As far as I knew, there was nothing wrong with Jada; since I was born into being a paranoid freak, I had tested her when we first met with silver, salt, holy water, even Borax—nothing hurt her though. Cas didn't seem to mind her. And I was sure Sam had gone through the same procedures with Alena, but she was still up and running.

"Your turn," Sam told me, still shaken up by his dream. I didn't realize I had been rubbing my own palms, but I had begun to imagine the cold blades driven through my tendons like Sam said. Hell, he's the one who actually saw it.

"Headaches," I stated; "no—total migraines. But only for a freakin' second. I keep seeing these intricate white lines on someone's skin, and I think they show up on different parts of their body, too."

"Did you see who?" Sam pried.

I gulped the lump in my throat and averted my eyes, straining to think of who it could be. Pearly designs, pale skin...

"It was Ellie."

"Ellie," Sam repeated, incredulous. He was the researcher, so he always lay boatloads of interrogation questions on me. "I don't think there's anything in common between Jada and Ellie."

"Why don't you sleep on it?" I suggested in frustration, and Sam only glared at me. As I left the room I called out, "You might fine a lead in live time!"

In the den, I squinted through the darkness and sought out a blanket large enough for two and a pillow to rest my head on. The ladies didn't come upstairs again until ten, which was around the time I actually fell asleep—all the brain capacity I devoted to this new case was causing me another dearth of slumber.

The next morning, I slept in about two hours later than usual; the great thing was that Alena let me do it guilt-free. My eyes opened when I felt a warm presence spooning me. The poor woman had probably been there forever, waiting for me to wake up so she could move. I flipped around gently in order to avoid pulling her hair and smirked when I see her eyelids closed. I finally beat her.

After applying a kiss onto her forehead, Alena awoke with a smidgen of a smile and happily inhaled the air of a new day.

"Good morning," she mumbled.

"Morning," I reciprocated equally as quietly. Alena brushed her long side bangs behind her ear and shifted closer to me, the top of her head just below my chin. "You okay?"

"Sleepy," she said. "I wanna stay here all day."

"Tell you what—you can lay here and I'll grab you some breakfast."

"You're the greatest."

I rolled off my half of the couch and scrambled to the bathroom to brush my teeth and splash water in my face. I could smell bagels coming from downstairs; Alena preferred jam to cream cheese on hers. So I put together a cup of coffee and a toasted bagel with strawberry jam slathered over the crispy parts.

"Dean?" Sam asked. I whirled around after replacing the jam in the fridge. "Since when do you eat toasted bagels for breakfast? You're more of a leftover hot wings guy."

"Shut up. It's for the lady," I rolled my eyes.

"Ah. Hey, whenever you have the time, I gotta talk to you alone." I nodded in a hurry and went back upstairs, where Alena lay soundly on the couch. She was awake, and her eyes were stuck on the wall.

"Hey," I interrupted, then sat and handed over her breakfast. "Did I do good?"

"Splendid," she smiled.

"Wait, you wanted Splenda?" I asked jokingly, tensing up. She giggled at me and gestures for me to lay beside her. "What's going on? You're awfully tired this morning."

"It's not that," she sighed. "I had this nightmare that someone took you away from me. But it was really strange because you and the captor went to this warehouse before it ended."

"Oh," I uttered. "I had no idea."

"I didn't wake up after the dream though. It just kept playing and playing."

"Well, uh, I'm still here. Always will be. I love you, Lanie." As an attempt to console her, I leaned in closer and wrapped my arms around her small frame. We lay in that position until Sam came in to tell me to pack up.

When my suitcase was full and nearly overstuffed, it was already noon. The sky was dotted with puffs of cloud, and the sun was hidden from certain angles. It was a beautiful day out otherwise, and I didn't want to spend all of it in the Impala.

Jody offered us lunch before we got back on the road again; she put together some kind of wonderful, and everyone feasted quickly.

"Thanks for the sandwich," I smiled at Jody graciously. She swatted it off. "Cas, will you be riding with us?"

"I suppose," he said.

"All right. I got all our stuff in the trunk, so we can head out," I announced, mainly directed at Sam.

"Sounds great," he said, then pushed out of his chair to say goodbye to everyone. I shake hands with Bobby and embrace the others.

"Drive safely," Alena beamed at me when it came our turn to hug. She rested her cheek on my chest and her arms around my waist, whereas mine snaked around her shoulders.

"You too, Lanie," I told her. "Catch you later."

"I love you." I let her go with a kiss and waved as I start out the door.

Cas and Sam were already in the car by the time I got there. Sam had the radio on, and he was forking through my cassette tapes with an unimpressed face.

"You need to update your collection," he shook his head. Then, sarcastically, he remarked, "Oh, wait a second! That's right! You can't update it because no one sells cassettes anymore."

"Shut your cakehole," I ordered, snatching the box out of his lap. "Never speak of Kansas in vain!"

Sam rolled his eyes. Cas added, "I don't recall Sam talking lowly of any states."

"Just keep swimming, Cas," I sighed, giving Sam an amused look. I doubted Cas understood, but he stopped talking altogether until Sam and I began discussing the odd visions.

"Have you had any more headaches since we talked?" Sam asked.

"No, you?" I returned.

"If I did, I can't remember it," he disclosed. "I don't think anyone else has had any—just us."

"Well," I considered, "Alena told me she had a nightmare last night. Sound fishy to you?"

"It's worth a shot," Sam nodded. He lowered the volume of the radio.

"You should give her a call," Cas submitted. "Maybe ask Jada while you're at it."

"On it." I dialed her number and put her on speaker phone. We were on an isolated road, so I wasn't putting anyone in danger.

"Miss me already?" her high, electronic voice flirted.

"Believe it or not," I smiled. "Hey, I got a question."

"Ask away, Dynamo."

I pursed my lips and looked at Sam, who was giving me the strangest, most judgemental look ever. He wasn't present during the establishment of Dynamo, nor should he have been.

"Heh. Do you remember your nightmare from last night?"

"Sure, why?" she questioned.

"Oh, I was just curious how it went."

"Well, um, don't laugh at me, but it was you and me in a hotel in Illinois, and then Jada barged in the door and kidnapped you."

Sam's funky expression morphed to concern. We made soulful eye contact for a second, and then I looked at Cas. Obviously there was some sort of connection.

"Keep asking questions," he whispered.

"Illinois?" I asked. "Why would we be there?"

"I don't—" Alena started. "I mean, my parents live in Chicago, if that helps."

"Right," I said.

"What's this about anyway?" she pried.

"Nothing," I assured her. "Look, I'll call you when I get back, okay?"

"Don't keep me waiting."

"I won't," I finalized lovingly. "See ya."

"See—umph!"

"Lanie?" I said, sitting forward a bit. I stopped at a red light; I didn't realize I was that far from Bobby's house already. I must have been speeding.

"Perhaps the emergency braking system is in use," Cas offered as an explanation for the grunt. (He and I spent a day working on Baby a couple of weeks ago.)

"She doesn't have one," I filled him in. "Lanie? What was that?"

"Dean—Dean, she's here!"

I heard tires screeching and a piercing scream. It was like my lungs had been punctured because my entire chest deflated after hearing that startling sound and knowing it was my Lanie on the other line.

"Dean," Sam uttered nervously.

"Oh, go to hell!" I seethed, pulling out of the short row of cars. The action caused about ten horns to honk at me, but I had other things to worry about. I saw Sam scrambling for his cellphone, and Cas had vanished.

"Hello? Jada?" Sam panicked into his phone. I heard a loud answer but couldn't make out what she was saying. "Whoa, you have to calm down."

"Lanie, you there?" I shouted, all my weight channeled into the pedal beneath my foot.

"I-I stopped the car," she stuttered, "but she's...on the phone."

"Get out of there!" I hollered over Sam.

My girlfriend's desperate voice only grew louder. "I can't!"

"I'm on my way. Don't hang up," I told her firmly. We zoomed past Bobby's place and headed straight for the direction Alena and Jada drove off in. I was completely confused though; they arrived in two separate cars.

Meanwhile, I controlled my breathing, my knuckles white due to my death grip on Baby's steering wheel, and continued to glare at the street before me.

"What was that?" Sam suddenly asked into the phone, drawing my attention. "Do—do I hear Cas?"

"That's my boy," I whispered, still trying to maintain my smooth breaths so my heart wouldn't fly out of my chest. All I felt was red hot rage, but I didn't want to miss anything important by bursting out.

Soon, I could see Cas approaching Jada's van, which was flipped on its side, and Alena's sports car had braked diagonally through the middle of the road. I hit the brakes the instant Cas yanked Alena out of the smashed car window. She was soaked in blood, but luckily still moving—and crying.

"Sam," I said, and he nodded knowingly before climbing out of the car. I ran over to Alena as soon as I could. She was lying on the road by the angel's feet, and I pat Cas on the shoulder for his hospitality while he assisted Sam in tending to the rabid Jada Bowman.

"Dean," she whimpered, reaching her bleeding hand up to hold my face. I knelt down and onced-over all her wounds, knowing they probably weren't too severe if Cas didn't heal her.

"Where's it hurt?" I asked softly, sweeping her hair out of her face. There was some screaming in the background, but I ignored it since it was coming from the only other female present. Bitch.

"Doesn't matter," Alena shook her head. "What just happened? Wh-who was that?"

"Not Jada, that's for sure," I sighed. I swooped down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"You got that right," someone said. I watched as Alena looked wearily over at the figure standing behind me. "There was never a Jada. Only me."

I twisted around and saw Ellie standing there, dressed in Jada's clothes. Or her own clothes. _What?_

"Ellie?" I exclaimed, slowly ascending so that I could tower over the mystery of a girl. I nudged Alena with my foot to notify her to move out of the way. "You son of a bitch. We trusted you."

"It would behoove you to show me some respect," she drawled, her eyes flashing the reflection of a vivacious blue flame. "Deep down, you know what I am."

Under her peach button-down shirt, magnesium streaks of many patterns lit up and disintegrated her hair and clothes. All that was left was grayish, very bony skin, white tattoos, and her sneering face.

"You're a djinn," I gasped. "But why are you revealing yourself?"

"Your brains are so smashed in reality that you would mistake me for a reindeer," she giggled. "Boys, I've had so much fun with you. I got to live normally for a change—emotional relationships, lovely meals, and resurrected dead. Those are all you value in life, Dean. I see now what your true wish is."

"How many points are you trying to get across?" I demanded, my head spinning with confusion.

She began counting on her glowing fingers. "Let's start with this: one, I'm not just some genie; two, you're a selfish douche; and three, you and your brother are so fried without your angel pet that you won't make it out of Chicago alive. How's that, Winchester?"

"Not just some genie? What—what are you? A _vengeful_ one?" I stalled.

"I've got human genetics," she smirked. _It_ smirked. "So I'd run if I were you. Go ahead and spend the remaining drops of your failed imagination so I can eat you up guilt-free. Put you out of your misery."

I pulled the Colt out of my breast pocket and aimed it directly at Half & Half's right eye. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger, and then my surroundings changed, anger and pain washing over me once again.

I was tied to some sort of furniture, and a stake had been lodged in my intestines. I could see it, but didn't feel it—I was numb.

Everything was dark and blurry so I couldn't focus on one thing at a time; feelings rushed into me. Anger. Fear. No pain, though.

I looked around the dim room and saw another set of legs. Dirty jeans and the hem of a flannel shirt. Then a tan jacket, then the more recognizable section of Sam: his face.

"Sam," I gasped, globs of semi-dried blood cascading out of my mouth. "Sam, what's happening to us?"

I winced and groaned as I felt a pinch in my shoulder. It grew more and more antagonizing the longer I thought about it. At least I knew I was still alive now, being in so much pain.

"Dean," he suddenly responded. "Is that you? Wh-where are we?"

"Don't know," I uttered. "Are you hurt?"

"Feels like it."

"Me too."

I heard some drops of water colliding with a puddle, followed by tapping and creaking noises. I tensed up and realized I was only seeing the approaching man out of one eye.

"Dean, is that you?" Garth asked in his country drawl. Relief washed over me. His voice was full of amazement. "Sam? How come you guys are holed up in here?"

He went to untie Sam first and did the same for me afterwards. "Do you know where you are?"

"Chicago," Sam and I said at once.

"Probably heard it in your dream," Garth muttered, tossing the rope off to the side. I removed my sore arms from behind me the instant he yanked the stake out of my core, and that was when I felt the splinters jerking at my fraying flesh; the stream of blood prompted me to screech at the top of my lungs, screwing my eyes shut and death-gripping Garth's right shoulder. Nothing could ease the intensive throbbing in both my stomach and my heart. It was like someone shredded my organs apart and turned my blood and bones to jelly. God, I couldn't even breathe.

"Are you hearing me?" Garth tested loudly, snapping his fingers before my dizzy eyes. I'd never seen him act so serious, especially since he had been introduced to a new lifestyle with new urges, but I was grateful for it at the moment. "You gotta stay awake, Dean. I had to remove the stake before it punctured somethin' else. Sam's out there gettin' help." He placed a clean cloth on my wound and it stung like hell.

"I-I killed it," I breathed out hoarsely, loosening my grip on Garth so I could hold the fabric in place. I watched as it changed color like ink in a glass of water.

"You killed the djinn?" Garth asked, staring in my face like I was some gem with magical powers. _Really, I could use one of those_.

"I killed it," I rasped again, leaning all my weight on the pole behind me.

"I'm not sure you did," he doubted in the process of frantically suturing my other injuries. He snapped two of my fingers back into place as well as my shoulder. "Now, I don't know how to fix a broken nose, so you'll have to wait it out."

"Cas," I uttered out, coughing up blood in my speech.

"The angel?" Garth checked. "I haven't seen him."

"But..." I began. "H-he was here, in Chicago."

"Dean, I think he's in Heaven," Garth frowned. "If he is, he's been there for as long as I can remember."

"A-and Sioux Falls," I persisted.

Garth shook his head sadly. "Dean, we're in _Chicago_. You ought to stop talking. I don't want you to wear yourself out."

"But I need him!"

"Man, he still doesn't listen to me," Garth said to himself, chuckling a bit. His phone rang, so he flipped it up and grimaced as he heard the caller's urgency. After hanging up, he looked solemnly at his phone and offered to me, "Let me know if I can get you anything else."

"Cas," I cried.

He sighed defeatedly. "You know I can't."

"Pray!"

"Dean."

"Fine...whiskey."

Garth nodded his head at my more realistic request and disappeared from the room. I tried to readjust my position and exhaled all that was left in my lungs as I pressed my back against the structure behind me. At this point, I was drenched in a foul-smelling mixture of literal blood, sweat, and tears. My thin henley style shirt was torn from the waist down; I clamped my teeth on the three-inch row of buttons as I lifted the bloodstained cloth from the gape in my abdominal area, only to get an idea of how serious it was. I gagged at the sight of a differently colored tissue peeking out from between my ribs.

I couldn't tell how much time had passed, but Sam and Garth returned soon enough; they weren't alone though. A team of paramedics rampaged towards me with latex gloves and a stretcher.

"Gimme that," I pointed at Garth as soon as I'd been placed on the stretcher.

"I discovered a better purpose for it," he shouted excitedly over the sirens outside. He had better not save it for himself because he gets loopy drinking grape juice.

"Dean!" Sam butted in. "I'm coming with you. It'll be okay."

"Sam," I said, my voice cracking. The doors of the ambulance shut after Sam entered. I was given oxygen, anesthesia, and peace for around eleven hours (or so I'm told).

There was far less commotion when my eyes opened up again. I was in a cubic hospital room lit up by the morning sun, and I couldn't feel anything.

"You're awake," the nurse at the foot of my bed smiled. I jumped and heaved myself closer to the wall, feeling pressure in my abdomen. "Don't worry. I was just checking your stitches."

"Stitches?" I panted.

"Yes," she nodded. "You needed emergency surgery after being stabbed so many times—eremember?"

"Believe me, I remember," I swallowed. "Where's my brother?"

"Oh! I'm sure he's at home or something," she shrugged, straightening the room for me. "He wasn't very hurt last night. Just needed a sling for his arm."

"Could you get him up here?" I asked. "And tell him to bring Garth."

"Sure thing. Let me notify the doctor that you're up now."

I nodded, smiled at the lady, and waited for her to close the door before sliding off the roller bed and staggering to my bag of clothes. The henley had been washed but unfortunately not tailored back to suitability. At least my jeans survived, and I had been dressed into a cotton T-shirt instead of a backless gown.

I scrambled to rip the IV tube out of my arm. A spurt of blood met my face, but I washed it off in the bathroom and then changed my clothes. Hopefully, after I carried my muzzy body through the door, I would catch Sam and Garth in the lobby.

The handle was cold as I twisted it, and it seemed oddly easy. On the other side, I _do_ see Sam and grin with faux innocence. He didn't look impressed that I was trying to flee.

"Dean," Sam said, pulling me in for a hug. I could feel Garth join in even though he was hidden.

"Easy," I groaned, shifting one hand down to my stomach. Both men pulled back and then walked into my room. Sam pushed me back on the bed. "Hey!"

"You can hardly walk, man. You need to rest for the next few days," Sam advised. I rolled my eyes and swatted at him dismissively.

"We've got great news," Garth piped up, glancing at Sam. "I figured out how to kill the half-djinn."

"But did you actually gank it?" I asked, sitting forward alertly.

"Duh," he answered. "I ad-libbed as soon as you asked for whiskey."

"You asked for whiskey?" Sam asked, a cheeky expression painted on his face.

"I could have just died," I retorted defensively. "I would rather like to go easy."

"Whatever you say. Continue, Garth."

"So I decided to light the thing on fire using the alcohol. First thing that happened was its tattoos lit up; then _boom!_ It was completely useless. Alcohol does the same thing as holy water does to a demon, only it makes half-djinns totally dumb."

"Nice work," I applauded. "All right. Think you can get me out of here?"

Garth shrugged, "Well, sure—"

"No way," Sam interrupted. "Your stomach was laying on the floor next to you."

"It was?"

"Pretty much."

" _Blegh_."

"Don't worry. They sterilize everything here," Sam said. I sighed and propped my feet up on the footboard.

"Dean Winchester?" a man with stubble and round glasses intervened in our conversation. "Hi there, I'm Dr. Howard Perry. We have some things to discuss, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, okay," I agreed. "Whatcha got?"

"First things first: how are you holding up?"

"Just fine," I said. "Very fine. Like I could walk right out of here."

"Heh, well, you've got at least three more days 'til you should be walking again," Perry told me. I knew it was lighthearted, but I choked on my saliva.

"Three days?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, we have an emergency," I said, gesturing at Garth and my brother. Perry held a finger up and opened his mouth, but I held my hand up to halt his continuation; "Doc, I can walk right now. How do you think I got dressed?"

"I'm betting you were wobbly the entire time. Am I correct?" he added. I rolled my eyes. _I can walk_. "I'll give you some time to talk with your visitors here. Pardon my interruption," he excused himself. Finally.

"What's the rush?" Sam asked me.

"I got business to do."

"Yeah, all right. Garth, why don't you tell Dean what else we talked about?" Sam said, piquing my interest. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs as Garth took over.

"Answer me this: did you have anything to drink in your dream?" he asked, leaning forward in his own chair.

"Sure, I had a few beers," I nodded.

"Those were the distinguishing factors between dream and reality. You were given nightmares, right?"

"Headaches."

"Same difference. They caused you pain, right? And you could see a woman torturing you but leaving Sam alone?"

"Actually, it was more images of Ellie's eyes and tattoos," I drawled out.

"Who's Ellie?" Sam wondered.

I replied, "Eleanor Theobald. Family friend by day, half-djinn by night. She was a...character, I guess, in my dream."

"Oh. I guess I'm getting my references from Sam's dream. But anyway, you were given hints of what was happening in reality while you were stuck dreaming. These hints were triggered by alcohol consumption."

"Explaining why whiskey killed our half-djinn," Sam piped up.

"Explaining why Ellie told me not to drink," I whispered.

Garth decided to try the trend by finally adding: "Explaining why you felt pain in your exposures and Sam felt fear."

I mumblde, "You are both geniuses."

"We know," Garth said, and the three of us had a laugh. He sat forward and clapped his hands excitedly, insisting, "So tell us about your dream!"


End file.
